During Jim Harbaugh’s senior season at Michigan in 1986, he barely spoke to his position coach, Jerry Hanlon, for several weeks because Hanlon told the ultra-intense quarterback to stop criticizing his wide receivers. Twenty-eight years later, Harbaugh and Hanlon have long since repaired what is now a close relationship, but the former Wolverines assistant knows all about Harbaugh’s challenging personality. …

“If they want to bring me back, they will,” Gore said. “They’ll come to me in a respectful way. We’ll sit down, see what they want me to do. See what my role is and if I like it, I’ll sign. If I don’t, I’ll try to see what other teams think of me.” …

Of course, few expect Harbaugh to be coaching the 49ers in 2015. Consider: He may give the same answer when asked about another coaching job, but his answer has changed when asked about his current job. …

The ailment has evidently become progressively worse over the past two months. Johnson first appeared on the injury report Dec. 3 and he missed his first game Sunday against the Seahawks. He hasn’t practiced this week and he didn’t sound optimistic Wednesday about playing on Saturday night against the Chargers at Levi’s Stadium. …

In early January 2011, Stanford was coming off an 11-1 season and quarterback Andrew Luck had just announced he would return to the school for his senior season. With a potential national championship in Stanford’s near future, Jim Harbaugh was asked the obvious question at his introductory news conference as the 49ers head coach: Why leave the Cardinal for the NFL? …

The 49ers severed ties with Ray McDonald on Tuesday, but many of his ex-teammates expect to maintain their relationship with a defensive tackle who was well-respected in the locker room, despite his string of off-the-field issues. …